United States v. Blackshire

United States District Court, M.D. Alabama, Northern Division

May 10, 2018

UNITED STATES OF AMERICAv.WILLIE EDWARD BLACKSHIRE

ORDER ON ARRAIGNMENT

TERRY
F. MOORER, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.

On
May 9, 2018 the defendant, Willie
Edward Blackshire, appeared in person and in open
court with counsel, Matthew Schultz and was
arraigned in accordance with the provisions of Rule 10 of the
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

PLEA.
The defendant entered a plea of NOT GUILTY.
Counsel for the defendant is requested to contact the U.S.
Attorney immediately if the defendant intends to engage in
plea negotiations. If the defendant decides to change this
plea, the parties shall file a notice of intent to plead
guilty or otherwise notify the clerk's office at or
before the pretrial conference and then this action will be
set on a plea docket.

PRELIMINARY
SENTENCING GUIDELINES INFORMATION.

The
court no longer requires the United States Probation Office
to provide preliminary sentencing guideline information to
defendants. However, in difficult or complex cases defendants
may request the United States Probation Office to provide
Sentencing Guideline calculation assistance with the
understanding that any estimate is tentative only and is not
binding on the United States Probation Office, the parties or
the court. The court expects that requests for Sentencing
Guideline calculation assistance shall be the exception and
that defendants will not make such requests a matter of
routine. A request for Sentencing Guideline calculation
assistance shall be made to the United States Probation
Office not later than 10 days from the date
of this order.

PRETRIAL
CONFERENCE.

An
initial pretrial conference is hereby set for June 4,
2018 at 11:00 a.m., Courtroom 4A, United States
Courthouse, One Church Street, Montgomery, Alabama.
Not later than three (3) days prior to the date of
the pretrial conference, counsel shall confer about the
issues and matters to be discussed at the pretrial conference
as set forth in this order. Counsel who want
in-custody defendants to attend must notify the Magistrate
Judge within three days of the conference date so that an
order to produce can be issued to the United States Marshal.

At the
pretrial conference defense counsel and counsel for the
government shall be fully prepared to discuss all pending
motions, the status of discovery, possible stipulations, and
the estimated length of the trial. The defense counsel and
counsel for the government shall be fully prepared to provide
a definite commitment as to the final disposition of this
case - by trial, plea or other non-trial disposition. If
resolution of a dispositive motion will affect the nature of
this commitment, counsel must be fully prepared to discuss
this type of resolution. If the case is for plea, the notice
of intent to enter a plea should be filed at the time of the
pretrial conference. If counsel require additional time for
plea negotiations, counsel should be prepared to inform the
court about the date when those negotiations will be
completed.

TRIAL.

This
case is set for trial before District Judge L. Scott
Coogler on the trial term beginning on
August 6, 2018, at 10:00 a.m., in
Montgomery, Alabama, unless otherwise ordered by the
court.

In
setting this case for trial on the term indicated above, the
court recognizes that the Speedy Trial Act places limits on
the court's discretion, and that under the act, the trial
of a defendant must commence within 70 days of the date of
the indictment or the date of the defendant's first
appearance before a judicial officer, whichever is later. 18
U.S.C. § 3161(c)(1). In determining whether a case
should be set after the expiration of the 70 day period, a
court must consider among other factors “[w]hether the
failure to [set the case at a later date] . . . would be
likely to . . . result in a miscarriage of justice.” 18
U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(B)(I). The court also must consider
“whether the failure to grant such a continuance . . .
would deny counsel for the defendant or the attorney for the
government the reasonable time necessary for effective
preparation, taking into account the exercise of due
diligence.” 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(B)(iv). Based
on the nature of this case, the parties' need for
adequate time for discovery and the need for counsel to have
adequate time for trial preparation, the court finds that the
ends of justice served by setting this case on this trial
term outweigh the best interest of the public and the
defendant in a speedy trial. Any requested voir dire
questions and jury instructions must be filed no later than
one week before jury selection.

PRETRIAL
MOTIONS.

All
pretrial motions under Fed.R.Crim.P. 12(b) and (d), 14 and
16, all notices under Fed.R.Crim.P. 12.1, 12.2 and 12.3, and
any motion to compel pursuant to M.D. Ala. LCrR 16.1
Criminal Discovery (a copy of this Rule may be found
at http://www.almd.uscourts.gov/forms/almd-local-rules) must
be filed no later than TWO DAYS BEFORE THE FIRST
PRETRIAL CONFERENCE HELD IN THIS CASE, except that if the
pretrial conference falls on Monday, the deadline for filing
pretrial motions is always the preceding Wednesday.
No motion filed after this date will be considered unless
filed with leave of court. Unless otherwise ordered by the
court, the continuance of the trial of a case will not extend
the time for filing pretrial motions. THE
CONFERENCING REQUIREMENT SET FORTH IN M.D. Ala. LCrR 16.1(c)
CRIMINAL DISCOVERY SHALL BE MET BEFORE THE COURT WILL
CONSIDER ANY DISCOVERY MOTION. THE COURT WILL NOT GRANT
MOTIONS TO ADOPT MOTIONS FILED BY OTHER DEFENDANTS.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Motions
to suppress must allege specific facts which, if proven,
would provide a basis of relief. This court will summarily
dismiss suppression motions which are supported only by
general or conclusory assertions founded on mere suspicion or
conjecture. All grounds upon which the defendant
relies must be specifically stated in the motion in
separately numbered paragraphs in a section of the motion
which is labeled "Issues Presented.". Grounds not
stated in the "Issues Presented" section of the
motion ...

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